From shipbuilding to statecraft: The real test of Australia’s Mogami deal

(Paul Chamberlain – Lowy The Interpreter) Last month’s signing aboard JS Kumano of contracts for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to build the first three Mogami-class frigates for Australia was rightly celebrated as a major step in the bilateral relationship. But anyone who follows defence procurement knows the hard work starts here. Canberra will need to give as much attention to sustaining the relationship behind the program as to building the ships themselves. Both Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi described the deal in strategic terms, making the Mogami deal an act of statecraft as well as naval procurement. It is therefore a test of whether Australia and Japan can preserve the relationship needed to deliver the program through political cycles, economic pressures, and strategic shocks. Canberra is not naïve about the risks of sourcing naval capabilities from overseas. But the scale and simultaneity of Australia’s naval procurement plans – AUKUS, the Hunter-class frigate, and the Mogami program will all run at once – introduces further risk. – From shipbuilding to statecraft: The real test of Australia’s Mogami deal | Lowy Institute